NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY, CHENNAI

KNITWEAR DESIGN SEM-6

Advanced Professional Practices
Submitted to: Dr Angammal Santhi S.

The Social Responsibility of the Foodservice Industry:

Obesity Crisis
- A Manileima Singha

Companies and corporate activities are often portrayed as major causes of health
problems, and this is for good reasons. The detrimental impact of the sale of tobacco
products and alcoholic beverages on health is obvious, and nowadays the food sector is also
criticized for contributing to disease and ill health. Many food and beverage companies
produce market products that contain large amounts of salt, sugar, and fat, which are
important contributors to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other so-called lifestyle diseases.
At the same time, food companies are active in innovation and product development
that aim to create healthier products or variants (e.g., by removing trans fats or reducing
salt). Some also engage in social programs that encourage people to take up a healthy and
active lifestyle. Nevertheless, such activities may well cause scepticism because in a
competitive market context, the ultimate motivation of companies seems to be to make a
profit, even at the expense of consumer health. Although there is a clear recognition in the
public health debate that food and beverage multinationals play a crucial role in
determining what a large part of the global population eats and drinks, corporate actors are
frequently considered to be part of the problem rather than part of the solution. Arguably,
multinational food and beverage companies have been a driving force in the increase in the
global consumption of processed foods that contain large amounts of salt, sugar, and fat, as
well as in the growing consumption of soft drinks and other sweetened beverages. The
industry is now being scrutinized in relation to the products it produces, the way certain
products are being marketed, and the influence it has on political decision making regarding
national public health policies and international public health guidelines.
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Costs associated with obesity pose a
severe threat to the U.S. economy. Evidence indicates the foodservice industry has had a
major role contributing to the obesity crisis; thus, it is argued that the industry has an ethical
and social responsibility to now aggressively adopt socially responsible actions that will help
alleviate the increasing incidence of obesity. Such actions might include innovative
advertising initiatives, modification of portion sizes, and nutrition labelling, so that,
consumers can make healthy food selections. Even though such actions might result in
short-term profit losses, socially responsible actions have the potential to yield long-term
economic value for the food industry.
 With regard to the products that are being produced, critics point to the development
of “hyperpalatable” food products, for instance. Hyperpalatable products are engineered to
have more rewarding properties, which is achieved by increasing the levels of sugar, salt,
fat, flavour, and so forth. These properties are present not only in fast-food products but
also in products such as soft drinks, candy, and cured meats that are put on the market by
multinational enterprises (MNEs) including Nestlé, Mondelēz, and PepsiCo. Food science
research has shown that these types of products can stimulate neural circuits similar to
those that are stimulated in cases of drug addiction. Although such products have only a
fraction of the addictive effects of recreational drugs, these findings have led some
researchers to cast doubt on the notion that all food-related health choices and their effects
are solely the result of autonomous individual choice and are therefore a personal
responsibility.
Food marketing practices aimed at children (e.g., character-branded products,
gamification of products, and free gifts, such as toys that come with a product) are criticized,
given that kids are unable to distinguish between truth and fiction in advertising and that
such advertisements stimulate them to eat high-calorie, low-nutrient food and beverage
products. Furthermore, increased attention is being given to how sugary drinks and fatty
foods are promoted at sporting events, music festivals, schools, etc. At some universities
and schools, there is increasing opposition to granting “pouring rights” to major beverage
companies that predominantly sell sugary drinks because this practice would eliminate the
possibility of opting for a healthier beverage choice.
Consumers spend about half of their food dollars on food away from home; thus, the
foodservice industry is clearly one of the major factors contributing to the current obesity
epidemic. Even though the foodservice industry has played a contributing role to the rising
obesity prevalence, not everyone agrees that the foodservice industry has responsibility
relative to alleviating the obesity epidemic.

Heat map of McDonald's in the US

 Obesity has reached epidemic proportions throughout the United States (U.S.).
According to statistics reported by the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), in 2008 obesity rates for adults exceeded 20% in every state but Colorado with six
states having rates in excess of 30% (Centers for Disease Control (b), n.d.). Thus, at the
present time, there are more than 60 million obese adults in the U.S., a figure that does not
include adults who are overweight, but not yet considered to be obese. The obesity
incidence rates for children are particularly alarming as the prevalence of childhood and
adolescent obesity has risen from 5 to 6.5% in the 1980's, depending on the age range, to
12.4 to 17.6% for the several age ranges at the present time.
Today, business firms are expected to accept ethical responsibilities; they are expected
to go beyond their profit oriented activities and boost the well-being of the community. This
expectation is exemplified through the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Through CSR activities, business firms voluntarily integrate social and environmental
concerns into their business operations and their interactions with their stakeholders.
As a result of fundamental changes which have occurred in today's business
environment, businesses are increasing their focus on CSR.
Key drivers influencing the new focus on CSR include:
1. Direct stakeholder pressures
2. Greater stakeholder awareness of corporate ethical, social, and environmental
behaviour.
3. Investor pressure
4. Peer pressure
5. Increased sense of social responsibility.
The ideas of corporate citizenship, sustainability, responsibility, fairness, and concerns for
community are practical guidelines for CSR.
Lantos (2002) has suggested three types of CSR:
1. Ethical
2. Altruistic
3. Strategic.
Two of these types, ethical and altruistic, focus on a firm's moral responsibility to an extent
that goes beyond a firm fulfilling its economic and legal obligations to the owners. From the
perspective of ethical or altruistic CSR, foodservice firms would have a moral responsibility
to offer products to consumers which would help them avoid excessive weight gain.
Consumers need to be encouraged to make more nutritional food choices, but to do
so, they need to have information and knowledge about the nutritional content of products
offered to them and make own choices. While there have been efforts to require
foodservice establishments to provide nutrition information about their menu items to
consumers, only recently have such efforts gained strong support.
 As a socially responsible action, the foodservice industry, along with food processing
firms that package products for sale in venues such as vending machines and grocery stores,
could take the initiative to reduce portion sizes while also engaging in an aggressive
consumer education program through advertising. Such a program should be focused on
changing consumers' perception of portion, size and their idea of "value for their money".
Marketing should be involved in the development of a firm's strategic CSR to help
ensure that the firm's philanthropic giving to society and the community is tied to its
organizational objectives and strategy. Strategic CSR activity should improve a firm's image
while also increasing both employee motivation and loyalty among the firm's customers and
other key constituencies.
Unethical marketing involves the use of marketing practices to pursue corporate or
individual managers' ends without consideration of what is right and beneficial for both the
firm and society. Deceptive advertising is an unethical marketing practice of particular
concern to the foodservice industry.

Conclusion
The food industry has been one of the major factors contributing to the current obesity
epidemic. Although the notion of shared responsibility does not provide a clear-cut solution
to the role businesses should play in population health problems, it does show that the
possibility of corporate responsibility for health should not be neglected. Also, the
responsibilities of other actors (governments, nongovernmental organizations, consumers)
require further ethical reflection and debate. Connecting the debates on public health
ethics, CSR, health sciences, and business ethics opens up room to work toward a more
sophisticated and inclusive approach to responsibility for public health in the food industry.
While socially responsible actions in regard to these areas may seem to be a reversal of
profitable industry actions, it should be recognized that industry commitment to such
actions now may result in long-term profitability and enhanced market value for the firm in
the future. At the same time, addressing these complex health problems requires us to
rethink the responsibilities of citizens, societal organizations, and especially the food
industry itself.